New details in Bay Area teen's bomb arrest

The case is ramping up against a teenager with ties to the Bay Area who is accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction.

January 27, 2014 12:07:37 PM PST

by Nick Smith

SAN CARLOS, Calif. --

The case is ramping up against a teenager with ties to the Bay Area who is accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction. The teen had recently graduated from Carlmont High School in Belmont and is now being held in a jail east of Pittsburgh.

The FBI and federal prosecutors are now reviewing the case. According to the complaint, the two devices that were found in his apartment had exposed fuses. When Vladislav Miftakhov was asked what he planned to do with the explosives, he said "set off devices in a field."

The Russian born teenager grew up in San Carlos and is a Penn State freshman. He has been charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction and risking catastrophy. There are 10 charges, three felonies and seven misdemeanors -- a combination of weapons and drug charges.

Originally police searched Miftakhov's Pennsylvania apartment for a marijuana grow operation. According to the complaint, that is when cops found the materials in question. The document goes on to say Miftakhov told authorities it took him about three weeks to build the bomb, that he purchased everything from the internet and that he had experimented with devices in California, but not in Pennsylvania. He also said he had never planned to blow up anything.

Miftakhov's bail is set at $500,000 and he's due back in court next week.